EP0038918B1

EP0038918B1 - Means for creasing sheets of material while conveying them

Info

Publication number: EP0038918B1
Application number: EP81101450A
Authority: EP
Inventors: George H. Bantz
Original assignee: Perkin Elmer Corp
Current assignee: Applied Biosystems Inc
Priority date: 1980-04-28
Filing date: 1981-02-27
Publication date: 1985-08-21
Also published as: EP0038918A3; JPS56165655A; EP0038918A2; DE3171877D1

Description

The invention relates to a means for creasing sheets of material while conveying them from a feed station to a utilization station comprising a first conveyor belt, a second conveyor belt, each of said first and second conveyor belts comprising a plurality of strips disposed in a staggered relationship with the strips of the other belt, with the strips of said first conveyor belt converging towards the strips of said second conveyor belt for deforming the sheets into semi-corrugated shapes as they are transported from said feed station toward said utilization stations and strips of the conveyor belts running over creaser rollers adjacent the utilization station.
There have been numerous types of machine for separating stacks of sheets of paper for the purpose of counting, sorting or stacking. The sheets may include bank notes, cheques, currency, food stamps, coupons and the like.
One of the problems associated with handling, conveying and stacking sheets of paper material is that some of the sheets have very low beam strength. This results in very poor handling characteristics. In most cases, the handling characteristics degrade as the material is used, folded or wrinkled. This is especially true of currency bills. Also, when paper sheets are worn, they tend to be torn if they are subjected to excessive stretching during the handling operation.
From US Patent 2101328 a conveyor system for transporting, corrugating and stacking sheets like the preliminary mentioned conveyor means was known. This known device, however, could only achieve an insufficient degree of stiffening.
US patent 2901951 describes a machine for pleating pliable materials. In order to corrugate the sheets in this machine several rollers, each with different corrugated surfaces, have been provided one after the other in the conveying direction of the sheet to be corrugated. The corrugating rollers have decreasing axial length in the conveying direction. Each roller co-acts with the second roller having a complementary corrugated surface with respect to the associated roller.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved means for handling sheets of paper, such as coupons, bills and notes, especially when they are limp, torn or folded, and especially for handling and stacking sheets of paper without tearing the sheets.
The present invention is characterized in that the strips of said first conveyor belt converge toward each other and said strips of said second conveyor belt converge toward each other, in that said creaser rollers in close proximity with each other to receive said sheets therebetween to form them into corrugated shapes prior to delivering them to said utilization station, which includes a bin for stacking, in that each of said creaser rollers includes projecting portions and recess areas disposed to complement recess areas and projections, respectively, in the other creaser roller, with the entire width of said sheet being finally creased in accordance with the shapes of said creaser rollers and in that said creaser rollers include grooves for receiving said strips of said conveyor belt therein.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent and suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, from a reading of the following specification and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a side view, partly in cross-section, illustrating a conveyor system and stacker for sheets of paper or bills, in accordance with the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the conveyor system and stacker illustrated in Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a view taken along lines 3-3 of Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 is a view taken along lines 4-4 of Fig. 2;
Fig. 5 is a view taken along lines 5-5 of Fig. 2;
Fig. 6 is a view taken along lines 6-6 of Fig. 2; and
Fig. 7 is a view partly in cross-section, illustrating another type of stacker bin which may be used with the present invention.

Referring to Figs. 1 through 6 of the drawing, a conveyor system 10 is disposed to receive a plurality of separated bills 12 and 14, for example, from a suitable source or feed station and convey them to a stacker bin 16 where they are suitably stacked as illustrated by a stack of bills 18. The conveyor system 10 includes a top belt set including a plurality of band-like strips or belts driven by a pair of rollers 20 and 22. In like manner, a bottom belt set includes a plurality of band-like strips or belts on rollers 24 and 26 which are also suitably driven.
As illustrated in Fig. 2, the top belt set or pulley system may include three belts or bands 28, 30, 32. The bottom belt set includes two belts or bands 34 and 36. The rollers 20, 22, 24 and 26 are moved in the direction of the arrows so that bills fed to the conveyor system are transported from a first station or source to a second station, such as the bin 16 used for stacking the bills 18.
The bills, such as the bill 12, are delivered sufficiently close to the rollers 20 and 24 so as to be gripped by the top and bottom sets of belts being driven by the rollers 20, 22, 24 and 26,. After the bills are gripped by the conveyor belts, they are conveyed, pre-shaped as they are being conveyed, and finally creased, in a manner to be described.
As illustrated in Fig. 2, the outer belts belts 28 and 32 of the upper set of belts driven by rollers 20 and 22 converge toward each as they leave the roller 20 and move toward the roller 22. The center band or belt 30 is maintained in a relatively straight line as it is moved from the roller 20 to the roller 22. The lower set of bands or belts 34 and 36 also converge toward each other as they leave the roller 24 and move toward the roller 26. The belts 34 and 36 converge inwardly toward the center or axis of the bill 14 in the same general direction as the belts 28 and 32.
At the same time that the outer belts of the upper and lower sets of belts converge towards each other or towards the axis of the bill 14 in a generally horizonatal plane, the upper and lower sets of belts also converge towards each other in a vertical plane as they move from rollers 20 and 24 to rollers 22 and 26. As the upper belts 28, 30 and 32 converge downwardly with respect to the lower belts 34 and 36, both sets of belts become aligned in the same horizontal plane when they reach the rollers 22 and 26. Thus the belts may be considered as converging towards the axis of the bill 14 in two directions.
The roller 20 includes suitable grooves 29, 31 and 33 therein for receiving the bands or belts 28, 30, 32, respectively. The roller 24 also includes similar types of grooves (not illustrated) for receiving the belts 34 and 36. The roller 22 includes grooves 38, 40 and 42 for receiving belts 28, 30 and 32. The roller 26 also includes similar grooves 44 and 46 illustrated in Fig. 6.
The rollers 22 and 26 are creaser rollers and may be of smaller diameter than the rollers 20 and 24, although this is not absolutely necessary. As illustrated and mentioned in connection with Fig. 1, the belts on the rollers 20 and 24 converge toward each other in both the horizontal and vertical planes as they approach the creaser rollers 22 and 26. At the final position on the conveyor system 10, prior to the ejection of the bill 14, the bands 28, 30 32, 34 and 36 of both pulley systems are in alignment with each other in the same horizontal plane between the creaser rollers 22 and 26, as illustrated in Fig. 6.
Basically, sheets are fed between the upper and lower sets of conveyor belts which converge on the center line of the sheets on both axes. As the sheet, for example, sheet 14, is being transported it is deformed by the upper and lower sets of conveyor belts. As illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, the upper belts 28, 30 and 32 push downwardly on the sheet 14 whereas the lower belts 34 and 36 push upwardly on the sheet 14. Because of the staggered relationship of the upper belts 28, 30 and 32 with respect to the lower belts 34 and 36, parts of the sheet 14 are pressed down whereas other parts in between are pressed up. This causes the sheets to be deformed into semi-corrugated shapes as they are being transported.
As illustrated in Fig. 2, because of the deformation of the sheet 14 as it is being transported, the total width between the outer edges gradually becomes less as the sheet approaches the creaser rollers 22 and 26.
Referring particularly to Fig. 6, the top creaser roller 22 includes grooves 38, 40 and 42 therein for receiving the belts 28, 30 and 32, respectively. The bottom creaser roller 26 includes grooves 44 and 46 for receiving the belts 34 and 36 therein.
The upper creaser roller 22 includes outer or larger diameter projecting areas 48, 50 and 52 which include the grooves 38, 40 and 52 therein. Smaller diameter recessed areas 54 and 56 are disposed between the adjacent projecting areas on either side. End portions 49 and 51 have the same diameters as the recessed areas 54 and 56.
The bottom creaser roller 26 includes larger diameter projecting areas 58 and 60 for receiving the grooves 44 and 46 therein. A smaller diameter recessed area 62 is disposed between the projecting areas 58 and 60. Other recessed portions 64 and 66 are of the same diameter as the recessed area 62. End portions 61 and 63 are of the same diameter as the projecting areas 58 and 60.
The creaser rollers 22 and 26 complement each other so that the recesses 54 and 56 of the roller 22 are disposed to receive the projecting portions 58 and 60 of the roller 26. In the like manner, projecting areas 48, 50 and 52 of the roller 22 extend into the recess areas 64, 62 and 66 of the roller 26. As illustrated, the outer ends 49 and 51 of the roller 22 are disposed relatively close to the outer ends 61 and 63 of the roller 26.
The rollers 22 and 26 are disposed relatively close to each other. However, they do have a small space therebetween for receiving therebetween the preformed bills 14 to be creased. One of the rollers is normally fixed while the other is pivotally mounted. The pivotally mounted roller may be spring biased inwardly which permits multiple notes, thick notes or notes with staples, etc. to be transported. Also, stops are normally provided to limit movement of the pivotally mounted roller and prevent it from physically contacting the fixed roller, thus avoiding damage to the rollers.
When the bill 14 reaches the point of injection from the conveyor system 10 at the creaser rollers 22 and 26 illustrated in Fig. 6, it is somewhat corrugated in shape. This gives added stiffness to the bill making it much easier to handle and to stack.
After the bill has passed through the creaser rollers 22 and 26, it passes into the stacking bin 16. The ejected bill is guided by a flexible guide means 68, which may be thin spring-like metal or plastic, which directs the bill downwardly toward the bottom wall 69 of the bin 16. The guide means 68 moves upwardly as the bills are piled progressively higher. A back stop element 70 is included in the bin to limit the forward movement of the bill to provide a neat stacking of the bills.
It is noted that the bills are preformed or corrugated gradually prior to the final creasing operation. This results in the outer edges of the bills moving closer to the axis. The action in effect makes more paper available for creasing within a small width. If the bills were subjected to the final creasing operation without this preforming, they would tend to tear as a result of stretching because no excess paper area to permit corrugation would be available.
Referring to Fig. 7, another embodiment of the bill stacker bin is illustrated. The basic conveyor system is the same as that previously described. However, the bin arrangement permits the bills to be stacked on edge. The ejected bills are guided by a guide member 72 toward the wall 73 of the bin 74. A flexible hold back means 76 is employed to hold the bills down against the wall 73 of the bin. The hold back feature of the hold back means 76 assures high reliability when the bills are moved at relatively high feed rates. The flexible guide 72 steers and holds the bills behind the hold back 76, slows the bills down and snaps them out of the way of succeeding notes or sheets. The flexible guide 72 also prevents any of the bills or notes from falling back into the path of the oncoming notes. The hold back feature serves to hold the notes against the wall 73 of the bin after they clear the guide and promote easy stacking, especially when the bills are stacked on edge.
While the conveyor system has been described as including three top conveyor belts and two bottom conveyor belts, it is apparent that the number of belts may differ depending upon the particular size and the number of corrugations desired in the bills. It is also apparent that either one of the top or bottom set of rollers may be - driven with the other roller being a follower roller.
The various motor means for moving the rollers are not illustrated since such details are well known to those skilled in the art. Many mechanical features well known to those skilled in the art are also not illustrated. For purposes of clarification, only the features directly related to the invention are shown in detail, with the many other features necessary to implement a system being well known to those skilled in the art.
References to such terms as vertical and horizontal have been made with respect to the way the elements were illustrated on the drawing. These reference were made for purposes of explanation. It is apparent that the positions of the elements may be different than those illustrated.

Claims

1. Means for creasing sheets of material while conveying them from a feed station to a utilization station comprising, a first conveyor belt, a second conveyor belt, each of said first and second conveyor belts comprising a plurality of strips (28, 30, 32; 34, 36) disposed in a staggered relationship with the strips of the other belt, with the strips of said first conveyor belt converging toward the strips of said second conveyor belt for deforming the sheets into semi-corrugated shapes as they are transported from said feed station toward said utilization station and the strips of the conveyor belts running over creaser rollers (22, 26) adjacent the utilization station, characterized in that the strips (28, 30, 32) of said first conveyor belt converge toward each other and said strips (34, 36) of said conveyor belt converge toward each other, in that said creaser rollers (22, 26) are in close promixity with each other to receive said sheets therebetween to form them into corrugated shapes prior to delivering them_to said utilization station, which includes a bin (16, 74) for stacking, in that each of said creaser rollers (22, 26) includes projecting portions (48, 50, 52; 58, 60) and recessed areas (54, 56; 62, 64) disposed to complement recess areas and projections, repectively, in the other creaser roller, with the entire width of said sheet being finally creased in accordance with the shapes of said creaser rollers and in that said creaser rollers (22, 26) include grooves (38, 40, 42; 34, 36) for receiving said strips of said conveyor belt therein.

2. Means for conveying sheets of material as set forth in claim 1 including a first pair of rollers (20, 22) for driving said first conveyor belt and a second pair of rollers (24, 26) for driving said conveyor belt.

3. Means for conveying sheets of material according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that the strips (28, 30, 32; 34, 36) of both conveyor belts are in substantial alignment with each other when said sheets are received by said creaser rollers (22, 26).

4. Means for conveying sheets of material according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said bin (74) for stacking said sheets (14) received from said pair of creasers (22, 26) include flexible guide member (72) to steer said sheets out of the way of succeeding sheets towards a wall (73) of said bin and a flexible hold member (76) to hold the stacked sheets or bills against the wall (73) of said bin.